Volleyball Wins Buttermaker Finale
Saturday, September 10, 2011 - page 3|
Ahead by six points and five points away from victory, the Muhlenberg volleyball team wasn’t going to take any chances.
The Mules were up two sets to one on Albright and led the
“We just told ourselves to take a deep breath and calm down,” said senior Jackie Price. “I think we were kind of freaking out. We went back out there and played like we know how to play, and we were able to get the job done, which was awesome.”
A kill by Price herself put a stop to Albright’s mini-run, and the Mules closed out the set, 25-18, to earn a well-deserved win in the last of their four Buttermaker Tournament matches.
Muhlenberg (2-7) dropped its opening match of the day in three sets to St. Mary’s (Md.). Moravian won the tournament with a 4-0 record, and Messiah was the runner-up.
Senior Brooke McQueen and freshman Holly Hynson represented the Mules on the all-tournament team. Each had 9 kills in the win against Albright, helping Muhlenberg snap a seven-match skid.
“It was so great for us to finally come together
Muhlenberg had to come back in the final match after dropping the first set, and some of the veteran players had to come back after the team went with a mostly-freshman lineup in the matches against Kean (Friday night) and St. Mary’s.
“We’re just experimenting with which rotations work best,” said Price. “We all have a good attitude about going in and out. We all want what works best for the team to be successful in the future.
Sophomore Morgan Duggan, who did not play against either Kean or St. Mary’s, came back strong with a 27-assist, 9-dig, 5-kill effort in the final three sets of the Albright match. She served the final five points of the pivotal third set, which the Mules won 25-22 after trailing 22-19.
McQueen, returning to the starting lineup, recorded her 9 kills with only one error. Freshman Lindsey Gambocurta also hit well, making only two errors to go against 8 kills. She added 6 aces.
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